Thank you kindly, gents. As for the name, Gary, two schools of thought. Popular opinion is it's because of how a rock arcs or curls as it slides down the ice. But I'm not in that camp. I'm in the camp that thinks it grew from the rumbling or growling noise a rock made on outdoor ice –– called a "curr" in old Scottish dialect, hence curling. If you look at centuries-old pictures of curling rocks (https://tinyurl.com/y8bmw2ny), it is hard to imagine they curved or rotated the way modern stones do. ... Also, modern ice-makers "shape" and "pebble" the ice to generate curl. No such possibilities existed in the seventh century on a frozen pond.

Interesting. I thought they were playing on a smooth surface. Nice piece about the stones, too. My grandmother was from Scotland. I wish I'd been far more inquisitive about her life, maybe she could have taught me their dialect, if she knew it. She did see Babe Ruth play a few times when she lived in NYC. That caught my attention.

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